Ice dispenser for beverage vending machines



Feb. 13, 1962 Filed Aug. 18, 1958 J. J. HILL 3,021,035

ICE DISPENSER FOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

JAMES J. HILL ATTORNEY Feb. 13, 1962 J. J. HILL ICE DISPENSER FORBEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 18, 1958 JUNIM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 72FIG. 2

e2 66 e4 e7 4 63 JAMES J. HILL AT TORNEY Feb. 13, 1962 J. J. HILL ICEDISPENSER FOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES Filed Aug. 18, 1958 3Sheets-Sheet 3 NIMIHW.

INVENTOR. JAMES J. HILL BY W/QW FIG. 4

ATTORNEY 3,021,035 ICE DISPENSER FOR BEVERAGE VENDING MACHINES James J.Hill, North Miami, Fla, assiguor to Apco, Inc, a company of New YorkFiled Aug. 18, 1958, Ser. No. 755,575 6 Claims. (Cl. 222-245) Thisdevice relates generally to vending machines and is more particularlydirected to an ice dispensing device for cup-type beverage vendingmachines.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a cup vendingmachine with an ice dispensing device so that each cup of beveragevended by the machine will contain a quantity of ice floating therein.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a cup vendingmachine having an ice dispenser which discharges a quantity of ice chipsor particles with each cup of beverage vended wherein the ice dispensingdevice is provided with adjustable means for varying the quantity of icedispensed with each cup of beverage.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an ice dispenserin a cup vending machine, which ice dispenser consists of an upright icecontaining receptacle that receives particles of ice at its upperportion and has an increasing cross sectional area to prevent the icefrom adhering to the sides of the receptacle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an icedispensing device in a cup vending machine wherein the ice is dispensedat the bottom portion of an upright ice retaining receptacle by ahorizontally reciprocating plunger having a plurality of knife-likeedges at variou heights thereon extending the full width of the plungerto form a plurality of steps thereon which break up the ice intoparticles as the plunger ejects the particles of ice from the dispenserinto a chute to be deposited in a cup at the cup station.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an icedispensing device in a cup vending machine with means for evaporationand removing water resulting from the melting of the ice in thedispenser.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an icedispensing device having a solenoid operated door and plunger whichoperate simultaneously to discharge a certain quantity of ice.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be bestunderstood from a consideration of the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, with the understanding, however, that the inventionis not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of thedrawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes ormodifications mark no material departure from the salient features ofthe invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cup vending machine embodying myinvention with the door of the machine in its open position to show theposition of my ice dispensing device therein.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of my ice dispenser.

FIGURE 3 is a transverse cross sectional view taken along the line 33 ofFIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal cros sectional view taken along the line 44of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a plunger for dispensing ice.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to designatesimilar parts throughout the several views, the numeral refers to a coinoperated vending res art machine for dispensing cold or refrigeratedbeverages in a cup. The vending machine 10 which is conventional exceptfor my ice dispensing device and shown herein for illustrative purposesonly consists of a cabinet 11 closed at its front portion by a full sizedoor 12. On the inside wall of the door 12 is a beverage selector switchbox or bracket 13, a coin chute 14, a change maker and slug rejector 15and a cash repository 16. An opening 17 in the door 12 is positionedover a cup station 18 when the door 12 is swung to its closed position,thereby permitting a person to reach through the opening 17 to remove acup of beverage which has been dispensed.

Mounted above the cup station 18 is a cup chute 19 whichreceives cupsthat are dropped from a cup dispenser 21 mounted on a bracket 22. Withinthe cup chute 19 is a beverage chute 23 which receives beverage from aplurality of tanks 24 one of which is shown in FIGURE 1.

In the upper portion of the cabinet 11 is an automatic ice makingmachine 25 which freezes water that flows to the freezer 25 through thehose 27 from the water reservoir 26. An electric motor 28 operates thefreezer 25 that is capable of producing ice fragments or chips anddispenses it through a duct 29 into my ice hopper and dispenser 30. Thefreezer 25 and motor 28 are of conventional construction and form nopart of the present invention. The ice container and dispenser 30 whichis explained in greater detail hereinafter is provided with a chute 31at its lower end portion for directing the fiow of ice into the cupchute 19 so that after a cup has been deposited in the cup station 18,the beverage and ice will flow through the chutes 23, 31 respectivelyand into that cup. Any liquids that spill over into the cup station 18flows through a drain pipe 32 which empties into a waste tank 33.

The ice storage container and dispenser 30 consists of an uprightinsulated receptacle 35 having a rectangular cross section taperingoutwardly in girth from top to bottom so that the cross sectional areaof the receptacle 30 increases in the direction of the bottom to theposition of a discharge mechanism 34. This prevents ice which is storedin the receptacle 30 from becoming wedged and frozen to the side walls,but will permit the ice to slide downwardly to replace the ice at thebottom that had been dispensed. Also, the construction of the icedischarge mechanism 34 as is explained hereinafter is such that upon itsoperation the receptacle 30 is subjected to vibration so that any icethat is frozen to the side walls of the receptacle will becomedislodged. The receptacle 35 is lined with a metallic inner casing 36 toprovide a smooth surface for the downwardly moving ice containedtherein. There is an opening 37 at the top portion to which the chute 29is connected whereby ice produced by the ice maker 25 will slide throughan outlet 38 into the chute 29 and into the ice storage receptacle 30. Athermostat 40 is mounted on a cover 39 mounted at the top of thereceptacle 30. When ice completely fills the hopper 30 and comes intocontact with the thermostat 40, the ice maker 25 is then deenergized andstops producing ice until the receptacle 30 discharges some of the icecontained therein and the top level of the ice has been lowered in thehopper 30.

At the bottom portion of the receptacle 30 is second opening 41 whichserves as an outlet for the ice and is provided with a door or gate 42hinged along the upper edge of the opening as at 20. A lower edge of theopening 41 is recessed so that the door 42 must be swung beyond itsvertical position to become closed. Slidably mounted on a bottom wall 44adjacent the discharge opening 41 is a plunger 45 whose function is topush out through the opening 41 a quantity of ice. The plunger 45 isprovided with a plurality of stepped portions or tiers of knife likeedges 46 beginning at the forward end portion 47. The knife-like edges46 extend the full width of the plunger 45 and are each positionedhorizontally; and are vertically equi-distant from the adjacentknifelike edges 46. These edges 46 are joined by a horizontal surface 48and an oblique vertical surface 49 which joins the edges 46 and thehorizontal surface 48. One of the horizontal surfaces 48 is providedwith a plurality of bores 51 for receiving upright pins 50 therein.These knife-like edges 46 as well as the upright pins 50 of the plunger45 serve to crush the ice into fragments or particles which wereoriginally produced as chips by the ice maker 25 and may have becomefrozen together again in the hopper 30.

Means are provided for actuating the plunger 45 comprising a pair ofrods 52 threadedly secured to a rear portion 53 of the plunger 45 andextending through bushings 54 mounted in openings in the receptacle 30.The rods 52 extend rearwardly through bores in a horizontally extendingpusher bracket 55 with an adjustable collar 56 mounted on the rods 52adjacent the rear surface of the bracket 55. A coil spring 57 mounted onthe rods 52 and extending between the head of the bushing 54 and thepusher bracket 55 yieldingly urges the pusher bracket 55 to its rearmostposition. The free end portion 58 of each of the rods 52 extend intobores in solenoids 59. The solenoids 59 are of conventional structurehaving an armature or plunger 65 which extends into the bore in thesolenoid 59 so that when the solenoids 59 are energized the plungers 65are drawn into the solenoid 59 as far as a collar 68 which limits themovement of the plunger 65; the inward movement of the plungers 65 pushthe rods 52 outwardly against the spring pressure 57. A further solenoid60 mounted between the solenoids 59 is identical in construction withthe latter and is provided with a rod 61 slidably mounted in its borewith a plunger 65 positioned in said bore and extending through the rearportion of the solenoid 60. The forward end of the rod 61 extendsthrough a bore in the pusher bracket 55 and is secured thereon by a nut82 and an adjustable collar 56 mounted on the rod 61 on either side ofthe bracket 55.

The door 42 is constructed and arranged to operate simultaneously withthe pusher bracket 55 and with the ice dispensing plunger 45. This isaccomplished by providing the door 42 with rearwardly extending ears ortabs 62 and the pusher bracket 55 with forwardly extending end portions63 in alignment with each other and joined together by a pair of ofadjustable tie rods 64. One end of a pair of the tie rods 64 is providedwith a clevis 66 which is pivotally connected to the tabs 62 of the doorwhile the other pair of tie rods 64 have a clevis 166 which is pivotallyconnected to the ends 63 of the bracket 55 with the other ends of allthe tie rods 64 joined in pairs to each other by an adjustment sleeve 67threaded thereon.

The solenoids 59 and 60 are connected to switches and a source of energy(not shown) for operation thereof and when the solenoids 59, 60 havebecome energized, the armatures 65 are drawn into the solenoids 59, 60pushing the pusher rods 58, 61 outwardly. The pusher bracket 55 ispushed in the direction of the hopper 30 causing the door 42 to be swungoutwardly to an open position. Simultaneously therewith, the plunger 45is made to slide in the direction of the opening 41 breaking up the icein its path and pushing the fragments of ice through the opening 41,which ice then falls into the chute 31 where the ice is directed into acup standing in the cup station 18. The stepped knife edges 46 serve tobreak up the ice as does the upright pins 50. A plunger having a flatsurfaced face has proved ineffective to dispense ice as it tended topack the ice rather than break it up into its original fragmentalcondition, As the plunger 45 returns to its normal inoperative position,the ice in the hopper 30 will slide downwardly to fill the void 4created by the ice previously dispensed. The increasing cross sectionalarea of the hopper liner 36 compels the ice to slide downwardly of itsown weight.

The amount of ice to be dispensed with each stroke of the plunger 45 maybe varied by adjusting the posltion of the collars 68 which determinesthe distance the armature 65 will slide which distance is equal to thatthe plunger 45 will slide. Shortening the sliding movement of theplunger 45 decreases the amount of ice that is dispensed at each stroke.

Upon the deenergizing of the solenoids 59, 60 after a quantity of icehas been dispensed, the springs 52 will take over and return the door 42and the plunger 45 back to their original position with a great deal offorce. The impact of the door 42 and plunger 45 against the hopper 30will cause the latter to vibrate thereby loosening ice contained in thehopper 30 that may have refrozen together or to the side walls of thehopper thereby assuring the flow of the ice particles downwardly. Thespace previously occupied by the ice that had been dispensed will now bereplaced by the ice that has moved downwardly in the hopper 30. Somemelting of the ice in the hopper 30 will take place, especially when icehas remained in the hopper 30 a great length of time. The water of themelted ice will flow to the bottom wall 44 of the hopper and drainthrough a drain opening 69 therein and flow into a container 70 mountedbelow the hopper 30. At the bottom of the container 70 is an electricheating element 71 which causes the water to evapo rate which escapesthrough an evaporation escape tube 72 positioned at the top portion ofthe container 70. The tube 72 extends (not shown) to the side or rearwall of the vending machine 10 so that the water vapors may bedischarged beyond the confines of the machine 10.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a cold beverage dispensing machine having an ice making machineand a cup station, the combination com prising an elongated receptaclehaving an opening at an upper portion, said receptacle having anincreasing cross sectional area in the direction of its lower portion, achute connecting said opening and said ice making machine for deliveringice to said receptacle, said receptacle having an ice discharge openingat said lower portion, a door, pivot means mounting said door at saiddischarge opening, a plunger slidably mounted at said lower portion ofsaid receptacle for reciprocation in a direction toward and away fromsaid opening, a rod secured to said plunger and extending outwardly ofsaid receptacle, a second rod secured to said door and extending in thedirection of said first named rod, means connecting said rods and poweroperated means operatively connected to said rod connecting means forsimultaneously operating said door and said plunger for dispensing icethrough said lower opening, and a chute mounted below said lower openingfor directing said dispensed ice to said cup station.

2. In a cold beverage dispensing machine having an ice making machineand a cup station, the combination comprising an elongated receptaclehaving an opening at its upper portion, a chute connecting said icemachine and said opening for delivering ice to said receptacle, saidreceptacle having an increasing cross sectional area in the direction ofits lower portion and an opening at said lower portion for dispensingice, a door, substantially horizontal pivot means mounting said door atsaid lower opening, a plunger slidably mounted for reciprocation at saidlower portion of said receptacle in a direction to and from saidopening, a pair of rods secured to a rear portion of said plunger andextending outwardly of said receptacle, a pair of tabs secured to saiddoor, a pair of tie rods, each pivotally secured at one end to one ofsaid tabs and extending rearwardly along each side of said receptacle, asubstantially horizontally disposed pusher bracket having a plurality ofbores for receiving free ends of said first named rods, collar meansmounted on said first named rods in contact relation with a rear surfaceof said pusher bracket,

spring means mounted on said first named rods and extending between saidreceptacle and said pusher bracket, pivot means connecting said otherends of said tie rods and said pusher bracket and power operated meansoperatively connected to said first named rods for operating said pusherbracket and simultaneously opening said door and discharging ice throughsaid lower opening, and a chute mounted below said lower opening fordirecting said dispensed ice to said cup station.

3. The structure as recited by claim 2, wherein said plunger comprises aforward end portion, a bottom wall portion and a top portion, aplurality of edge portions including an edge portion at said for-wardend portion extending transversely of said plunger on said top portion,each of said edge portions other than said edge portion on said forwardend portion lying in a plane above that of an adjacent edge portion,with said edge portion at said forward portion of said plunger beingclosest to said bottom wall portion and a plurality of pins mountedadjacent one of said edge portions and extending upwardly above said topportion.

4. In a cold beverage dispensing machine having an icemaking mechanismand a cup station, the combination comprising a generally verticallyelongated ice hopper having an inlet opening at its upper end, said icehopper having a progressively increasing cross-sectional area in thedirection of its lower end, a chute connecting said inlet opening andsaid ice-making mechanism for delivering ice from said mechanism to saidice hopper, said ice hopper having a discharge opening at its lower end,a door pivotally mounted on said ice hopper adjacent said dischargeopening and being pivotally movable in one direction to close saiddischarge opening and being pivotally movable in the opposite directionto open said discharge opening, a plunger slidably mounted at said lowerend of the ice hopper for generally horizontal movement toward and awayfrom said discharge opening, rod means secured to said plunger andextending outwardly of said ice hopper, additional rod means secured tosaid door and extending in the same general direction as thefirst-mentioned rod means, connecting means connecting saidfirst-mentioned rod means and said additional rod means, poweroperatedmeans operatively connected to said connecting means for simultaneouslyopening said door and operating said plunger to dispense ice throughsaid discharge open ing, and a chute mounted below said dischargeopening for directing said dispensed ice to said cup station.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4, wherein the power-operatedmeans comprises solenoid means energizable to thrust the connectingmeans, rod means, plunger and door in one direction to open saiddischarge opening and to dispense ice therethrou-gh, and spring meansoppos ing the action of said solenoid means, said spring means beingbiased to thrust said connecting means, rod means, plunger and door inthe opposite direction, upon de-energization of the solenoid means, toclose said discharge opening and to retract said plunger in preparationfor a further ice dispensing operation.

6. The combination of claim 4, wherein the plunger is provided with aplurality of stepped ice-engageable portions having knife-like edgescapable of cutting into the ice to form dispensable chips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,931,908 Tillotson Oct. 24, 1933 1,990,715 Steifen Feb. 12, 19352,237,189 McCormack et a1 Apr. 1, 1941 2,779,165 Pichler et a1 Jan. 29,1957 2,787,890 Muffly Apr. 9, 1957

